1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a print setting method, and a computer-readable program. In particular, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a print setting method capable of performing a setting for changing a print attribute of a print job on a specific page or page range and a computer-readable program therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a print-on-demand (POD) market and in the field of a high-end printer driver and a hot folder for use in office, a function for enabling a different setting of a print attribute for each page is desired in addition to setting of a print attribute for the whole print job. For example, in creating a document including a plurality of chapters, there is a case where a color paper is used for a first page of a chapter and a white paper is used for other pages of the chapter.
In this case, a print attribute setting different from the print attribute setting for the whole job is performed, in which a white paper is used for the whole job and a color paper is used for the first page of a chapter. While the setting in the examples is made as to paper type and color, other print attributes, for example, paper size, one side or both sides printing, finishing, and color is desired to be set for a specific page of page range.
Generally, in performing a different print setting to each page using a printer driver, an operator of an apparatus opens a property sheet for setting an exception page, then designates a page range to generate a partition, and sets a print attribute in a dialog box in a layer below the generated partition.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-110638 discusses a method in which a printer driver includes a setting function unit capable of performing a different setting for print attribute for each section by storing a current setting value set in properties of the printer driver as a section setting information file.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-250606 discusses a method in which an exception print condition is predetermined other than a basic setting condition using a printer driver. For example, a paper size “A3” and a 1-up layout are set as an exception setting condition, and “A4” and “2-up” are set as basic setting conditions to perform printing.
Under these conditions, in the case where a document to be input includes five pages of “A4”, “A4”, “A3”, “A4”, and “A4” size, the A4-sized first and second pages of the input document are printed in “2-up”. The A3-sized third page of the document corresponds to the exception setting condition and is printed in “1-up” printing, and the fourth and fifth pages are printed in “2-up” printing.
According to the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-110638, a user interface (UI) for basic setting is used in performing an exception setting so that a current setting set in a property can be selected to be “applied to current section” or “applied to current section and beyond”. Attributes that are set here as exception are all setting values in a property of a printer driver.
That is, in a setting sequence like this, when values for some setting items are changed for a specific page, the values to be changed are registered as values for the entire setting items. That is, the setting items desired to be set in common for the entire document are managed in each section set as an exception. Accordingly, it is necessary to change the values to default as to each section when the setting values set in common to the entire document are changed after exceptions are set, which makes the operation much complicated.
The Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-250606 discusses a method in which a condition for changing a print attribute and a print attribute to be changed are set. In this method, print attributes cannot be changed between pages in which print attributes are not changed. That is, it is necessary that a user recognizes in advance a page number of a document whose paper size as a changing condition, is changed. Further, if the paper size is not changed at a portion where the print attribute is desired to be changed, the method is not feasible.
There is another method in which an exception page sheet is provided in a property screen of a printer driver in addition to and separately from a main print setting sheet, and a range of pages to be set as an exception and an exception print setting are set in the exception page sheet.
However, in such a method, an exception setting can be performed only with respect to the print setting items included in the exception page sheet, which does not offer a high degree of flexibility. Furthermore, it is necessary to open an exception setting sheet other than a main print setting sheet. Therefore, an operator cannot easily recognize what exception setting is to be performed to a main print setting because the exception setting is performed using a separate exception setting sheet.